Last Leaf

Album: Bad as Me (2011)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This acoustic guitar-backed ballad finds Waits reflecting on how he's managed to stay alive for so long, when so many of his contemporaries haven't. "I'm the last leaf on the tree/The autumn took the rest/But they won't take me," he croaks.
  • Keith Richards, who we suspect can also readily identify with the song's sentiments, plays guitar and duets with Waits on this track. "I was talking to the record company and they say, 'Any guests you want on the record?' And I said, 'What about Keith Richards?' I was just joking, but somebody went ahead and called him," Waits recalled to Pitchfork. "And then he said, 'Yeah.' And I said, 'Now we're really in trouble.'"

Comments: 2

  • Nicole from TexasMen fighting mother nature with nature itself is hilarious.
  • Wayne A from AustraliaIt’s such a beautiful song. Tom never lost his magic.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Joe Ely

Joe ElySongwriter Interviews

The renown Texas songwriter has been at it for 40 years, with tales to tell about The Flatlanders and The Clash - that's Joe's Tex-Mex on "Should I Stay or Should I Go?"

Is That Song Public Domain?

Is That Song Public Domain?Fact or Fiction

Are classic songs like "Over The Rainbow" and "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" in the public domain?

Phil Hurtt ("I'll Be Around")

Phil Hurtt ("I'll Be Around")Songwriter Interviews

Phil was a songwriter, producer and voice behind many Philadelphia soul classics. When disco hit, he got an interesting project: The Village People.

80s Video Director Jay Dubin

80s Video Director Jay DubinSong Writing

Billy Joel and Hall & Oates hated making videos, so they chose a director with similar contempt for the medium. That was Jay Dubin, and he has a lot to say on the subject.

History Of Rock

History Of RockSong Writing

An interview with Dr. John Covach, music professor at the University of Rochester whose free online courses have become wildly popular.

Don Brewer of Grand Funk

Don Brewer of Grand FunkSongwriter Interviews

The drummer and one of the primary songwriters in Grand Funk talks rock stardom and Todd Rundgren.